Frogs in winter

[peterdadamn]

Hey everyone,

I've been looking for some information on frogs regarding their habits over the winter months, but don't seem to be able to find the answers that I'm looking for. Thankfully I've found this site, so I hope someone can help!

I dug a pond into the garden a few years ago and wanted nature to take it's course, so introduced a few plants and let it get on with taking care of itself. It seems to have done so and we now have water snails, visits from dragonflies and finally (over summer) the arrival of a rather large common frog.

I'm a little concerned though, as the first frost is almost open us and the frog is still in the pond. It has no problems getting in and out, as it is frequently seen sitting next to the pond of an evening, but it seems to prefer resting on the pot housing the water lilies, with just it's eyes peering out of the water, and spends most of the day doing so.

A friend mentioned that it was unusual to still be seeing a frog at this time of year and that they normally travel to larger ponds to hibernate. Is this true and if so, will the frog leave our pond when it's ready to go? The same friend also mentioned that we should be thinking of emptying some of the water from the pond over the winter months, burying the lilies at the bottom and not using the pond pump, is this also the case and if the frog stays would this cause it any harm?!

Any help would be appreciated.

Peter

[diggleken]

Welcome to WAB Peter!
Frogs can look after themselves pretty well -it wont be tootling off at this time of year I suspect, just looking to rest up for the winter - and maybe still find some food, it hasnt frozen all ponds yet (might tonight!).
Cant understand why you would drain off some of the water? Leave as deep as poss to maintain a higher temp - espec if its deep, to avoid freezing over as much. Floating, wind blown objects like plastic balls etc are supposed to help to avoid freezing, but they never work for me..............
I bet you actually have a number of frogs.
Good luck!
Cheers
Ken

[Ukwildlifeo]

Frogs (especially the males) often hibernate at the bottom of ponds so leave the frog be, when the temperature drops I imagine it will swim to the pond bottom or head off to its hibernation site.

As for being active this late in the year, I found a toad on xmas eve (or possibly boxing day) last year. If the temperature is high enough they will be active. In fact the sometimes breed in December in the South west!

PS welcome to Wab

[peterdadamn]

Hey,

Thank you both for your responses, it's really put my mind at ease. I feel very happy that the frog feels comfortable enough to remain in the pool and it seems very happy to have us go and get quite close for a good look and a few pictures, I'll post a few on here when I upload them to the computer. It seems quite clued up that were not a threat in any way but disappears completely whenever a bird or cat ventures anywhere vaguely close to the water, it's fascinating.

Here's hoping that we end up with a whole pond full next year, amphibians seem to be having a hard time of late, from what I've been reading. They might also help with slug control around my vegetables!

[Dulcebella]

Hi there, just a few more gems of information for you to dwell on. I also have a small garden pond, whikch is primarily so that we have the sount of running water in the garden, it has a vertical jet and also a small waterfall off of the same pump. The waterfall is actually the filter as it overflows. I have had this for a number of years now. It is always full of frogs, throughout the year, in the spring months the frogspawn is heaped up out of the water and I have counted as many as a dozen frogs in the pond in the mating season doing what comes naturally to them. We have three other water features in the garden, just for the sound of the running water, they are all controlled byh a domestic time switch so it is quiet at nightime. I leave the pumps running throughout the year, I was told that by switching the pumps off and removing them causes all the rubber washers and seals perish, if you want them off in the winter months they should be left imersed in the water, I leave all four of mine running all year, just making sure in the deepest winter when ice is around that the water that is pumped out has a way of getting back into the pond, it never freezes down at the bottom of the pond so the pump alway has water to move, but if there is a layer of ice on top of the pond it could conceivably pump itself dry. We have no fish, as we are blessed by a large number of Herons in the nearby fields, and I cannot see the point in inviting trouble. At the moment we are inundated with copious amounts of green weed, looking in the adjacent field drains, they are also clogged up with the same weed. When your frogs start to lay the spawn you will no it, it is not something that is easily missed from a garden pond. Then in the summer, as I mow the grass, and shift planters for the mower to move, there is an exodus of thumbnail sized frogs leaping away from the danger you are introducing into their young world. Enjoy your pond, I live for the day I find a crested newt in mine.

[galanthophile]

I have a pond in my garden which faces north so freezes at the slightest frost. I have had a frog popluation (easily 20 - 30 frogs) since I built the pond about 12 years ago and they survive no problem. Even the smallest frogs and even sometimes tadpoles seem to overwinter no problem. This last 2weeks though my pond has been frozen solid although I have tried to keep a hole melted to allow any gases to escape. I have known my frogs to be spawning when there is ice on the pond so they are very hardy creatures. I have common newts too so I guess now they will be all in the same mud!

[Susie]

I found a frog today down the side of the house. The pond has been frozen for a while now so I found the frog I nice snug hidey-hole where it can hibernate for the winter if it chooses.

[abeizer]

Hi just found this thread as I wanted to check on my frogs too.
I put a pond in this spring dug to a good wildlife friendly depth and profile and have had three frogs visiting over the summer. It had a thick layer of ice recently in the cold snap which I couldn't get through at all.
Now it has thawed there are three dead looking frogs on a ledge near the surface.
Are they deceased or sleeping? Should I move them?
Any advice appreciated, thanks.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by abeizer

Hi just found this thread as I wanted to check on my frogs too.
I put a pond in this spring dug to a good wildlife friendly depth and profile and have had three frogs visiting over the summer. It had a thick layer of ice recently in the cold snap which I couldn't get through at all.
Now it has thawed there are three dead looking frogs on a ledge near the surface.
Are they deceased or sleeping? Should I move them?
Any advice appreciated, thanks.

I'd leave them be. They may have died from lack of oxygen if your pond was covered in snow or had no plants to photosynthise under the ice to produce oxygen in the water but equally they may just be in active. Frogs can survive a week underwater with little to no oxygen while hibernating apparently.

[galanthophile]

I would also leave them be. I always think that nature knows best and in proper wild ponds the ice is there until it thaws without any intervention from us. Hope your frog population is ok. It has been exceptionally cold for a long time...Good luck.